What size line are you going to be using? What weight of jigs?

I've had a love/hate relationship with the TSS rods. First one arrived with a broken tip. Leland shipped me a replacement, no problem. The second one, the tip broke within a week. I asked for a replacement tip. They are out of them until "Fall". Instead, they offered me a complete replacement rod for $20. I took it, but I'm still a bit befuddled by "we will sell you a whole new rod for $20" instead of "making it right" (in my opinion, of course). I'd have bought every rod they had for $20 if I had the choice . So, I have a rod with about 2-3 inches missing from the tip. I had a local shop put a new tip eye on it, but it just doesn't perform the same -- as expected, since it has a fast tip. When they do get some more tips in, I'll be buying a few. I can replace the tip on the rod that was "fixed" and have a couple of spares. For some reason, the USPS takes a while to get the rods here. The first replacement rod and the other stuff I ordered left Leland the same day, but the little box got here almost a week before the rod. Again, not Leland's fault.

Now, let's talk about the TSS rods themselves. They are light. I hate EVA grips, but these are nice and dense (I still prefer cork). The two pieces of the rod connect firmly and tightly. Compared to the Okuma Celilo rods, the TSS have a much better "fit". The Okuma tip will twist a bit after a fish or two. No biggie, twist it back, but it shouldn't do that. I MUCH prefer one-piece rods, but oh well.

The guides are fine. I heard an odd noise on the TSS rod with the "fixed" tip and it was the sound of the line (mono) against the new tip guide. Needless to say, I like the guides on the TSS just fine.

The reel seat looks great, but I wish instead of that triangle type skeletonized area with cork underneath, that the seat fit directly against the blank and my thumb could touch the blank while retrieving (opposite the reel foot, not in front of the seat itself). However, the reel seat is much better than the Okuma. The TSS screws backward, whereas the Celilo screws forward. The nut comes loose on the Celilo from time to time.

The blank -- The Celilo is much more of a noodle. It flexes further down the blank than the TSS. I have an 8' Celilo and the casting distance is rather poor because of all of the flex of the blank (and how far down the blank the flex goes). I obviously get better hooksets with the TSS as well. Please do not take any of this to make it sound like the TSS is a stiff rod. It just has a fast action vs a medium action. The TSS is defintely ultralight as far as power goes -- it just has a bit more backbone.